"You old geezer actually showed up in person? That explains their confidence," Chiyo shrieked the moment she saw the Third Hokage, and Rasa was equally shocked.
Never did they expect their diversionary attack could attract the most enduring Hokage in history.
Then again, maybe this wasn't such a bad thing after all.
"Hahaha..." Rasa laughed wildly. "Who would've thought the Hokage himself would come! Then allow me to show you Suna's ultimate weapon—the Shukaku of the Sand!"
Suddenly, the entire mountain trembled as if an earthquake had occurred. Tornadoes of sand spiraled into the air alongside a piercing roar.
"Haha, I'm finally out! I'm finally free!"
A massive creature resembling a tanuki made entirely of sand emerged from the ground. It had a long tail, violet markings across its body, and eyes brimming with excitement and malice as it stared directly at the Konoha ninja.
At this moment, every Konoha ninja—including the Hokage—felt their hearts sink into despair. They never imagined Suna would dare fight them while risking the chance of the jinchuriki going berserk at any second.
Anya's heart was pounding wildly and uncontrollably. So Rasa had the nerve to bring a jinchuriki outside the village behind everyone's back. How bold could he get? Did he have no fear of the Third Kazekage's retribution? Or perhaps his relationship with the Third Kazekage ran deeper than anyone suspected?
As Rasa waved his hand to issue orders, four jonin immediately rushed to surround the Konoha ninja. Unrolling scrolls, they quickly formed hand seals. "[Ninjutsu: Sand Barrier!]"
Suddenly, beams of light shot up from the earth, merging with crystals on the puppets to form towering walls of sand. These encased both Shukaku and the battling shinobi within the barrier.
Anya glanced around. The barrier extended deep underground, and its durability had been significantly reinforced by many Suna ninja. This must be Rasa's trump card—it had been hidden far more deeply than expected.
The Third Hokage remained unperturbed by the sudden appearance of the barrier. With eyes as sharp as blades, he glared at Rasa. "Using tailed beasts in warfare will only lead to self-destruction."
"Perhaps. But right now, that's not something for you to worry about," Rasa replied with a cold chuckle. He then turned to Shukaku. "If you kill all these ninja before you, I'll remove the jinchuriki seal and give you freedom afterward."
Shukaku looked at him excitedly. "Fine! But if you break your promise, I'll destroy your entire village, you hear me?"
Without further ado, it launched its attack straight ahead. "[Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!]"
From its mouth erupted a massive ball of wind packed with chakra, hurtling forward with terrifying speed and power.
The Third dashed forward. With a quick upward strike of his Ruyi Staff, he deflected the incoming attack, then unleashed a torrent of flame from his mouth. "[Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!]"
Not only was Shukaku's attack neutralized—it was sent flying back, searing the beast with scorching flames and causing it to cry out in pain.
Seeing this, Rasa shouted in anger, "Fool! Don't just use ninjutsu against him! Attack with brute force instead!"
Shukaku, upon hearing this, raised its massive front paw and slammed it toward The Third Hokage. However, his Ruyi Staff held firm against the blow. They clashed in battle.
At the same time, the ninja from both sides resumed their clash, sparks flying as steel met steel.
Among them, Anya's battle with Rasa was especially intense. Lightning flashed across the sky, Gold Dust filled the air. Anya's powerful Lightning Blade Art completely overwhelmed him. It appeared that victory was only a matter of time.
As the battle progressed, while seemingly slacking off, Anya split her attention to observe the surroundings. She quickly noticed something was off—Konoha was at a disadvantage after prolonged defense, their chakra reserves nearing depletion.
It's due to the barrier, Anya realized through her Sharingan. Inside the Sand Barrier, Suna ninja recovered chakra five times as fast as usual, growing stronger with every passing moment.
Judging the situation on site, there were only two ways to turn the tide: first, for Anya to kill the leader Rasa; second, for The Third Hokage to fully seal the Shukaku of the Sand.
Realizing this, Anya swung her blade even faster. Bolts of lightning shot out as her sword techniques combined with Ninjutsu.
[Lightning Slash!] A massive arc of electricity formed and sliced straight through the air.
Rasa also understood the current situation clearly. Thus, he kept retreating, using Earth Release and Gold Dust to block Anya's deadly attacks one after another. Occasionally, he released a Wind Release to interrupt her offensive rhythm. Judging from the situation, it would be hard to decide the winner between the two anytime soon.
Meanwhile, The Third Hokage, locked in battle with Shukaku, cast a dark gaze across the battlefield. After careful consideration, he decided to go on the offensive against the beast. Enhanced by the barrier, its combat power had skyrocketed. Though he could suppress it now, the Tailed Beast healed fast—especially here in the rocky terrain where sand quickly replenished. At present, there was only one weak point capable of temporarily lowering its strength—it's eyes.
"Enma."
The Third silently commanded his Ruyi Staff.
An eye appeared on the staff, and after a brief glance, a deep voice echoed out, "Sarutobi, I understand. I'll only have one chance."
"That's enough. Let's do this."
The Third swung the Ruyi Staff with a powerful gust. He leaped into the air and spun mid-flight, unleashing a flurry of dazzling staff strikes that rained down like falling stars. The immense destructive force effortlessly neutralized incoming Wind Release techniques.
Then the Ruyi Staff shot skyward like an unleashed spear, piercing through the descending thunderbolts. Tora shrieked in rage, shocked that such power could come from such a frail body.
Before the still-staggering Shukaku could steady itself, the tiny figure landed directly above it. In its astonished eyes, the mighty staff struck directly toward its giant eye. Feeling danger, Shukaku opened its mouth wide to block the tip of the staff.
Just when it thought it had survived—
A hand suddenly emerged from the staff and plunged lightning-fast into Shukaku's eye.
"Aaaaaaah! My eye! It hurts so bad! I'm going to kill you! I swear I will!"
Shukaku let out a piercing scream, and the frenzied beast opened multiple mouths across its body, roaring, "Wind Release – Great Breakthrough!"
A violent gale surged through the entire barrier, shaking it violently. Each of the four elite jonin maintaining the barrier spat out a mouthful of blood. The wooden puppets supporting the barrier cracked badly, and the barrier light flickered dimly and brightly, threatening to vanish at any moment.
Seeing this, more Suna ninja joined in, clenching their teeth as they formed hand seals and poured massive amounts of chakra into the barrier, finally stabilizing it.
The warring forces on both sides were inevitably caught in the wind attack. Almost everyone was injured. In the chaos of the indiscriminate assault, Anya and Rasa were separated and returned to their respective camps.
Seeing the sudden turn of events, Rasa bellowed furiously at Shukaku, "Damn it! You don't even care about freedom anymore? If you keep acting like this, I'll seal you away inside the cursed horn jar—forever!"
At the mention of the horn jar, Shukaku seemed to regain a bit of clarity—but soon the sharp pain in its eyes overwhelmed it again. Without hesitation, it increased its chakra output and resumed its Wind Release technique.
Anya arrived beside The Third, waiting for further orders.
The Third surveyed the battlefield now lying in ruins and finally sighed deeply, "Retreat."
Suddenly deprived of enemies, the Suna ninja stood bewildered as they watched the raging Shukaku, all turning their eyes toward Rasa—who was now furious. Their original plan had unexpectedly failed due to his own tailed beast. From now on, he'd need to study its power carefully and learn to control it completely.
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